David Antrobus

Librettist

Biography

English director, actor and writer David Antrobus made his Royal Opera House debut in 2016, as co-librettist with Emma Jenkins for Iain Bell’s In Parenthesis, performed on the main stage by Welsh National Opera.

Antrobus studied English at Oxford University and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is currently Theatre Director in Residence with King’s College School, Wimbledon, where his productions include Christopher Logue’s War Music (adapted in collaboration with Jenkins), the large-scale community project The Merton Mysteries, The Long Day Closes, Peter Grimes and Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Before joining KCS Wimbledon he was Artist in Residence with Orange Tree Theatre, where his productions included the UK premieres of Stephen Sewell’s It Just Stopped and Ibsen’s Love Comedy, in addition to regular appearances as an actor with the company. Other acting credits including Macheath (The Threepenny Opera) with Pimlico Opera, Napoleon (The Man of Destiny) in Wimbledon and Rome and in Three Sisters on the West End. Film and TV appearances include in Richard III, Billy Badmouth, Infinity Diner and Family Affairs. He has also worked extensively in radio since winning the 1994 Carleton Hobbs Award.

Antrobus works as a bushcraft instructor, traditional woodsman and storyteller. He is the founder of Native Eyes, an organization devoted to the sharing of bushcraft skills, nature awareness and environmental education for children and adults, through which he created the one-man theatre piece Tales from the Wildwood.